Chapter 83: 83 Creation Dew
Leng Yun helplessly said, "How can there be orthodox spells from demonic sects?"
"After all, it\'s the true transmission of the demonic sect, and it\'s worth collecting."
Zhou Yi\'s tone changed, "The complete versions of these four techniques can be exchanged for five hundred Spirit Stones."
Leng Yun was only mild-mannered by nature, but he was actually very astute. He immediately guessed there might be hidden issues with the four techniques, but after a moment\'s thought, he still nodded in agreement.
"Okay."
"Brother Leng, go prepare the materials for the Formation, and I can set it up any time!"
Zhou Yi took the complete jade slips for the techniques and memorized them one by one, following the order in which he had read them.
"Good."
Leng Yun immediately left. The Zombie Lady could go mad at any moment; if she broke through the Mystifying Array and harmed people, he would truly fall into the demonic path.
Meanwhile, Leng Yun also thought carefully. Of the four techniques, the Jade Dew Art was the most useless, the Yin Wind Curse and Blood Spirit Net reeked of malevolence after cultivation, leaving only the Soldier Refining Art somewhat useful.
"The Soldier Refining Art allows mortals to break through to Innate, but with a lifespan of at most forty or fifty years, what\'s the use?"
Leng Yun pondered repeatedly but couldn\'t grasp the key point, and eventually his curiosity faded.
In Leng Yun\'s life, nothing in the world mattered more than his wife\'s recovery of her spiritual intelligence!
...
Office.
Zhou Yi\'s expression was unchanged as he worked, chatting with colleagues about recent interesting events.
A few days ago, a cultivator had been greedy for a female cultivator\'s beauty, fell into a trap, and ended up stripped bare, yet, incredibly, he didn\'t die.
"It\'s called an unbroken cycle!"
Pang Xun laughed, "Sex is natural. He was greedy for beauty once, and as soon as he earns more Spirit Stones, he\'ll fall for the same trap again, and we can harvest a second time!"
Another colleague said, "That\'s not quite right. Brother Zhu has long been known for his lechery; how come he hasn\'t been caught in a romantic entanglement?"
Zhou Yi pretended to be disheartened, "When you have seen as much as I have, these things are no longer important."
This instantly caused an uproar, but no one noticed Zhou Yi\'s distraction.
Shift ended.
Zhou Yi applied his mana to irrigate the Spirit Fields, only to find that his neighbor wasn\'t there.
Returning to his cave dwelling, he found a letter on the ground.
—— Benefactor, I was duped in the Marketplace, my Spirit Stones swindled away. I\'m too ashamed to see you again and can only go to Qi Yun Peak to mine.
Signed: Xiao Tiezhu.
"What\'s this all about?"
Zhou Yi put the letter into his storage bag. After returning to his cave dwelling, he did not practice the Jade Dew Art but cultivated as usual.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
Leng Yun arrived at the office with three sets of materials for forming Arrays.
"Brother Zhu, please make it quick. Yesterday when I returned from hunting demonic cultivators, she almost left the cave dwelling\'s perimeter."
"I\'ll go now."
Zhou Yi noticed that Leng Yun\'s breath was intermittently strong and weak, evidently injured and unable to perfectly control his mana.
...
On the shaded side of a hill, cave dwelling number 702.
Roar!
A bestial roar erupted from inside the dwelling.
Leng Yun\'s expression shifted slightly, and he transformed into a deep blue streak of escape light, entering the dwelling, causing the roaring to cease immediately.
"What ingenious Escape Technique!"
Zhou Yi admired aloud as he began inscribing the Mystifying Array script on the Formation Flags. However, his mana fluctuated slightly, and the Formation Flags snapped into several pieces.
The complexity of the small Five Elements Banner was more than ten times that of the Mystifying Array. Even with a thorough understanding, it was troublesome to draw.
After damaging over a dozen Formation Flags, he successfully inscribed one Fire Element Banner, followed by the Gold, Wood, Water, and Earth Banners, damaging over seventy Formation Flags in the process.
"The success rate is quite a bit higher than expected."
With some thought, Zhou Yi guessed the reason: it was due to practice making perfect and a strong soul.
"The hardest part is still the Array Plate, which is the core of the small Five Elements Array."
The complexity of an Array Plate far surpassed that of the Formation Flags; the latter was inclined towards inscribing symbols, whereas the former was close to Artifact Refining. Fortunately, the Marketplace had prefabricated array instrument embryos.
Mana transformed into a blade, inscribing patterns on the Array Plate. Just as he was about to complete it, instability in his mana caused it to shatter.
"The second one."
Zhou Yi calmed his emotions and continued inscribing.
A moment later.
The last stroke of inscription fell, and hundreds of mysterious patterns connected into a formation, subtly drawing a connection with the Five Elements Banner.
"It\'s done!"
A smile appeared on Zhou Yi\'s face, and after that, setting up the formation became much easier—if there were errors, he could simply start over.
After about two to three hours, he had arranged both the Formation Flags and the inscriptions.
After Leng Yun infused mana into the Array Plate and activated the Minor Five Elements Formation, five-colored brilliance sparkled, enveloping the cave dwelling within.
The zombie bride, unable to see her husband, went mad inside the cave dwelling; yet, no matter how she tore at it, she couldn\'t break through the Minor Five Elements Formation.
Leng Yun\'s expression slightly relaxed as he said, "Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Zhu!"
"Fair trade," Zhou Yi reminded. "Copper corpses may be stopped, but once they advance to Golden Corpses and develop innate divine abilities, even the usual clan protection formations will hardly keep them at bay. You should prepare early."
Leng Yun nodded slightly, "By then, I will have achieved Foundation Establishment."
Suddenly, Zhou Yi asked, "Do you have no regrets for the sake of such an elusive possibility?"
"Never any regrets, only debts," Leng Yun sighed. "My wife and I were childhood sweethearts, married at fifteen. At twenty, I obtained a Cultivation Technique and became obsessed with the pursuit of immortality. I made enemies outside, and they came seeking revenge. I was one step too late when I returned home!"
Zhou Yi nodded, "I see. I understand."
Leng Yun cast a glance at Zhou Yi, "You don\'t understand!"
"Hmm?"
Zhou Yi looked puzzled, not understanding.
Leng Yun said with a smile, "I\'ve long heard the marketplace rumors that a remarkable person arrived at Little Dan Mountain; one who farms for a year to enjoy a drink, farms for three to visit Phoenix Cry Pavilion. He does not cultivate, nor meditate, treating Phoenix Cry Pavilion as his own cave dwelling, truly carefree and at ease!"
"Slander, that\'s slander!"
Zhou Yi said with a serious face, "My aptitude is too low, it\'s only through Dual Cultivation that I can barely improve my cultivation!"
"I believe you!"
Leng Yun nodded very seriously.
...
Half a month later.
In the cave dwelling.
Masses of five-colored mist concealed the place, obscuring the true from the false.
"There is a Mystifying Array inside and a Minor Five Elements Formation outside, and I only cast spells within the house; even a Foundation Establishment Sage wouldn\'t detect it."
The floor tiles in front of Zhou Yi were lifted, and in the earth, he had planted a wood attribute Spiritual Medicine.
Spirit Ginseng.
The most basic wood attribute Spiritual Medicine, growing an inch every ten years, surpassing a foot after a hundred, gaining intelligence at a thousand years, also one of the rare medicines capable of living a thousand years.
Zhou Yi performed a spell with his hands, and mana in his body circulated in a complex order, ultimately converging at his fingertips.
Strands of vitality were drawn from within him, merging into his mana, transitioning gradually from intangible substance into verdant green, condensing into a rich essence.
Creation Dew!
"That\'s about ten years of longevity consumed… Not enough!"
Zhou Yi continued to use the Jade Dew Art, drawing away strands of vitality; his complexion suddenly turned pale, while his internal organs rapidly aged.
Hum!
The long dormant Longevity Dao Fruit vibrated slightly and instantly rejuvenated.
"A hundred years of longevity!"
Zhou Yi, observing the Creation Dew turn ink-green, stopped consuming his lifespan and carefully dropped it onto the Spirit Ginseng sapling.
The Spirit Ginseng, which was originally just a sapling, grew rapidly before his eyes.
After waiting a day and a night.
The former sapling of Spirit Ginseng had grown to ten inches in length, indistinguishable from a ten-year-old Spirit Ginseng.
"Again!"
Zhou Yi used the Jade Dew Art once more, expending a hundred years of longevity to quicken the maturation of the Spirit Ginseng.
Half a month later.
The Spirit Ginseng had grown beyond a foot, becoming a valuable hundred-year-old Spiritual Medicine.